For about two-thirds of this book, I would have given it two stars. There are a lot of characters and it was difficult for me to keep them straight. I was not a fan of the lengthy emails and text chains sent from Jem. That doesn't always bother me in a book, but I felt that we didn't really get to hear Jem's voice or her feelings much of the time. Most of the time, I was rooting for Ruthie, who was the one character I really liked as I felt she was making a genuine effort to make her life work. My support for her lagged a bit in the middle of the book, but I liked the way her story turned out. The fact that she showed some growth over the course of the summer is what made me bump my rating up to three stars.